County, Schools Up Against 911 Wall

State-mandated Upgrade Too Costly, Officials Complain

April 05, 2000|By Steve Stanek. Special to the Tribune.

The McHenry County Board is expected to discuss Wednesday morning spending about $50,000 to upgrade its emergency 911 telephone equipment, one small chunk out of millions of dollars that local governments, schools and private businesses must spend by June 30 to comply with a state law that may yet be changed.

The County Board will also discuss whether to spend about $10,000 more for extras that could save money in the long run.

Some county officials argue that since the county must upgrade its emergency 911 equipment anyway, spending the additional money now to install digital phone lines makes good business sense. The lines would reduce monthly phone charges and expand telephone service options. Those options include videoconferencing, caller ID and a telephone tie-in to the county's computer system, said County Administrator Alfred Johnson.

"This would get us positioned for videoconferencing," Johnson said. "It also combines our internal computer network with the phone system."

With the expected savings, purchase of the expanded phone system could pay for itself within five years, he said.

While the county eventually would have upgraded its phone system, it needs to make a quick decision because of a law requiring that by June 30, owners of buildings of 40,000 square feet or more install phone switches that show where within a building a 911 call originates. Dispatchers now see only the building address when a 911 call comes in.

The law was passed in response to the case of a woman who died in a Chicago high-rise fire because firefighters could not find her in time. Many governmental and business groups have criticized it as too costly given the expected benefits. Even some local public safety officials have criticized the law, saying its costs are far too high.

"From a dollars standpoint, this is nuts," said Steven Kite, chairman of the McHenry County Emergency-911 Telephone System Board and chief of the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District.

He noted that most communities do not have high-rise buildings and said he knew of no instances in McHenry County where a person's life was in danger because firefighters or paramedics got lost.

The state Senate recently passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Dick Klemm (R-Crystal Lake) to delay implementation another year. It is stuck in the state House Rules Committee, where several amendments are keeping it from moving forward.

The General Assembly passed the first version of the law five years ago. It required nearly all commercial, industrial and public buildings to have an upgraded phone system by June 30, 1999. But business groups won a one-year delay and exemptions for employers in buildings of less than 40,000 square feet.

Local governments, including McHenry County, have complained that the law is an unfunded mandate, and Klemm agrees. He said his amended bill would exempt schools and churches and that he is still working for the state to "put in money to fund this."

He said the holdup in the House is over money and proposed amendments dealing with penalties for missing the deadline. The Senate favors deadline extensions for businesses that cannot get equipment because of last-minute demand or that would face cash-flow problems paying for it. Some House members oppose a deadline change, Klemm said.

Regional Schools Supt. Donald Englert said he hopes schools are excluded from the bill, as county districts collectively could end up spending several million dollars on phone upgrades.

"I'm hearing costs similar to those at the county government center for each school building," Englert said. "We have 71 public school buildings. And there are private and parochial schools in addition to the public schools.

"I am certainly in support of school safety, but (he and other school officials) have some real questions whether this spending will improve anything."

Englert said bigger improvements and lower costs probably could be achieved through better training on existing safety procedures, more use of surveillance cameras and improved lighting, among other things. He said many school administrators and other personnel already carry radios or cell phones and are always present with students.

"I just don't think the reasons for this law are an issue with schools," he said.